The Berenstain Bears

The Berenstain Bears is an animated television series based on a series of children's books. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and Southern Star Productions, and broadcast over CBS from 1985 to 1987. Each episode consisted of two stories, the first adapted from one of the books, and the second being an original story. Both seasons of this series were rebroadcast in Canada on the cable network Showcase later in the 1990s. From 2003 to 2005, the show was included in the DiC Kids' Network syndication package, but the episodes were edited and time-compressed by DiC, along with removing all Hanna-Barbera logos and references.

Plot[]

The series involves a family of four human-like bears who live in a tree. They are identified only as Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Brother Bear and Sister Bear. The series teaches moral lessons while following the struggles of the family, mainly the cubs. Brother Bear is stated to be in second grade, while Sister Bear progresses from preschool to kindergarten.

Episodes[]

Season 1[]

"The Messy Room" (Aired - Sept. 14, 1985) (Sypnosis - Mama tries to get the cubs to give their messy room a complete cleanup within a 15-minute time limit. Failing to do so, she tries to throw away their stuff, but Papa stops her and he has a better idea.)
"The Terrible Termite" (Aired - Sept. 21, 1985) (Sypnosis - Raffish Ralph meets the Terrible Termite (who can eat wood in seconds) and decides to use him to threaten people who do not buy his "termite insurance". However, when the Termite realizes he is being used he refuses to serve Ralph anymore, and Brother and Sister free the termite into threatening Ralph's houseboat unless he retires from the insurance business.)
"Go Fly a Kite" (Aired - Sept. 28, 1985) (Sypnosis - Brother and Sister want to enter the Kite Contest.)
"The Trojan Pumpkin" (Aired - Oct. 5, 1985) (Sypnosis - Papa gets a magic pumpkin seed that grows into a mutant pumpkin, but Brother and Sister discover it's a scheme by Weasel McGreed to take over Bear Country.)
"The Spooky Old Mansion" (Aired - Oct. 12, 1985) (Sypnosis - The whole bear family is terrified of a spooky mansion down the road. Mama explains that when she was a cub it was owned by a nice lady who was a friendly neighbor, but when she moved away no one else bought it and it fell into disrepair. Mama thinks about buying it to restore it to its former glory, but she needs Papa and the cubs to overcome their fears and superstitions.)
"The Fly-Away Pizza" (Aired - Oct. 19, 1985) (Sypnosis - Papa enters a pizza-twirling competition and Weasel McGreed and Raffish Ralph decide to take advantage of this in order to take over Bear Country.)
"The Giant Bat Cave" (Aired - Oct. 26, 1985) (Sypnosis - Raffish Ralph is planning to wreck Giant Bat Cave to build an amusement park, but the cubs, with the help of a smart bat, are able to scare him away with the usage of a giant, fake bat.)
"The Wild Wild Honey" (Aired - November 2, 1985) (Sypnosis - Papa tries to steal some of Queen Nectar's wild wild honey.)
"The Neighborly Skunk" (Aired - November 9, 1985) (Sypnosis - A skunk moves in next door to the Bear family.)
"The Missing Pumpkin" (Aired - November 16, 1985) (Sypnosis - Farmer Ben's prize pumpkin goes missing, so the bear detective cubs decide to search for it.)
"Too Much Birthday" (Aired - November 23, 1985) (Sypnosis - Sister's sixth birthday is coming up. The preparations for the party are bigger than Mama expected, including ponies and a merry-go-round Papa hired. The party is pretty distressing for Sister, but by the end of the party, she sees the advantage of growing up.)
"To the Rescue" (Aired - Nov. 30, 1985) (Sypnosis - The Bear Scouts Brother, Sister, and Cousin Freddy try to earn their merit badges. Papa tries to help, but his reckless and clumsy antics make him the one in need of rescuing. Still, the scouts earn their badges eventually.)
"The Soccer Star" (Aired - December 7, 1985) (Sypnosis - Brother Bear tries out for the soccer team. (Note: This is one of a few episodes where neither Mama nor Papa physically appear in.))
"Shoot the Rapids" (Aired - December 14, 1985) (Sypnosis - The Bear Scouts try to earn their whitewater merit badges.)
"The Knight to Remember" (Aired - Jan. 18, 1986) (Sypnosis - The cubs find a cursed suit of armor. (Note: This is one of a few episodes where neither Mama nor Papa physically appear in.))
"The Superduper Bowl" (Aired - Jan. 25, 1986) (Sypnosis - Raffish Ralph has a football scheme that involves holding a Super Duper Bowl.)
"The Not-So-Buried Treasure" (Aired - Feb. 1, 1986) (Sypnosis - The bears find a treasure map.)
"The Condemned Backscratcher" (Aired - Feb. 8, 1986) (Sypnosis - Raffish Ralph convinces the mayor to build a superhighway which threatens a Bear Country landmark.)
"King for a Day" (Aired - Feb. 15, 1986) (Sypnosis - Bigpaw is captured by Raffish Ralph and Weasel McGreed and exhibited. (Note: Arch Weasel had an gruffer voice on this episode.))
"Blaze a Trail" (Aired - Feb. 22, 1986) (Sypnosis - Papa interferes with the cubs' scouting efforts.)
"No Girls Allowed" (Sypnosis - While viewing family memories, Sister gets angry that Brother outdid her. But today, Sister turns the tide on her fellows. In response, they exclude her from their clubhouse, so Papa decides to start a new clubhouse for celebration.)
"The Missing Dinosaur Bone" (Sypnosis - In the Bearsonian Institute dinosaur exhibit, the skeleton is missing a right thigh bone. Sister, Brother, Cousin Freddy and Snuff are on the case with Papa's not so helpful assistance. Snuff turned out to be the thief to get a lick at the bone.)
"The Spookiest Pumpkin" (Sypnosis - Papa is ambitious to win a pumpkin carving contest and Brother and Sister are also joining in. Papa is extremely secretive with his own pumpkin and guards it closely. Papa then has nightmares and he chooses to miss out on the contest.)
"The Dancing Bees" (Sypnosis - Papa buys from Raffish Ralph "The Secret of the Dancing Bees" book and dons on a bee costume in hopes of extracting Queen Nectar's honey. His plan works and humours the bees but when Ralph tries it, the bees are not impressed.)
"Learn About Strangers" (Sypnosis - During their outdoor playtime, Sister is in the habit of talking to people she doesn't know. Papa's warnings about stranger danger scare her, but Mama coaxes her that this isn't all true.)
"The Disappearing Honey" (Sypnosis - With Papa's honey supply missing, Brother, Sister, Cousin Freddy and his dog Snuff do detective work, while Papa does his ineffective searching. It turns out Papa took and ate the honey in his sleep.)

Season 2[]

"In the Dark"*
"Ring the Bell"
"Forget Their Manners"*
"The Wicked Weasel Spell"
"The Truth"*
"Save the Bees"
"Get in a Fight"*
"The Bigpaw Problem"
"Get Stage Fright"*
"Go Bonkers over Honkers"
"The Great Honey Pipeline"
"The Great Grizzly Comet"
"The Sun-Fire Bait"
"The Cat's Meow"
"The Trouble with Friends"*
"The Coughing Catfish"*
"The Substitute Teacher"
"The Mystery Mansion"
"Bust a Ghost"
"The Ice Monster"
"The Crystal Ball Caper"
"The Raid on Fort Grizzly"
"The Forbidden Cave"
"The Hot Air Election"
"Life with Papa"
"Save the Farm"

Voice cast[]

Ruth Buzzi as Mama Bear, Grizzly Gran, Scoutleader Jane, Various
Brian Cummings as Papa Q. Bear, Mayor Honeypot, Bigpaw, Too-Tall, Henchweasels, Various
Christina Lange as Sister Bear
Josh Rodine as Cousin Freddy
David Mendenhall as Brother Bear
Frank Welker as Raffish Ralph, Actual Factual, Weasel McGreed, Farmer Ben, Grizzly Gramps, Henchweasels, Various
Marissa Mendenhall as Additional Female Voices
Marilyn Schreffler as Additional Female Voices
Kristen Fullerton as Additional Girl Voices
Emily Moultrie as Guest voice

Credits[]

Season One[]

Produced and Directed by: Buzz Potamkin
Originally Developed for Television by: Joe Cates
Production Executive: David Salter
Animation Director: Chris Cuddington
Associate Producer: Gordon Kent
Story Direction Supervisor: Cullen Blaine
Story Editor: Rowby Gowen
Production Manager: Jack Pietruska
Background Design: Richard Zaloudek
Layout Supervisor: Margaret Parkes
Animation Supervisor: Di Rudder
Animation Checking Supervisor: Ellen Bayley
Inbetweening Supervisor: Mary Guest
Xerography Supervisor: Joan Lawson
Xerography Checking Supervisor: Irmina Dubinska
Paint Supervisor: Donene Bailey
Camera Supervisor: Fernando Letteri
Control: Annette Deal
Color Styling: Olga Zahorsky
Storyboard Design: Rich Chidlaw, Robert Dranko, Jan Green, Scott Jeralds, Bruce Morris, Bryon Vaughns
Voices: Ruth Buzzi, Brian Cummings, Christina Lange, David Mendenhall, Frank Welker, Josh Rodine, Don Messick, Henry Corden, Mel Blanc, John Stephenson, Marilyn Schreffler, Kristen Fullerton and Marissa Mendenhall
Original Music Composed and Conducted by: Elliot Lawrence
Music Arranged by: Lanny Meyers
Music Recorded at: Regent Sound Studios
Voice Tracks Recorded at: Buzzy's Recording Services
Rerecorded at: Post Sound
Post Production Supervisor: Arthur Lazarus Klein
Production Coordinator: Diane Allman
Post Production Coordinator: Jason Rock
Director of Post Production: Jason Stiff
Film Editor: Robert Ciaglia
Post Production: Pacific Video
Production Auditor: Wayne Dearing
Production Assistants: Robyn C. Williams, Tom Rice
Post Production Assistants: Joni Torres, Mary Morrisey, Marion Swiek
Track Reading: Cecil Brouthon, Gary Lewis
Sound Editing: EFX Systems
Negtative Cutter: Dennis Brookens
Assistant Editor: Robin Gerber
Layout Artists: James Baker, Mark Mulgrew, Lisa Brailey, Steve Papantoniou, Deane Taylor, Bruce Pedersen, John Hill, Nancy Lockwood, Joe Shearer, Andre Bresciani, John Vance, Gaynor Medlin, Pere Van-Reyk, Stephen Moltzen, Peter Sheehan
Background Painters: Jerry Liew, Chesmire Borkert, Helen Steele, David Davenport, Ken Wright, Mike King-Prime, Milan Zahorsky, Sr.
Animators: Karen Barboutis, John Burge, Robert Baxter, Rodney Brunsdon, Sue Beak, Gariden Cooke, Ty Bosco, Murray Debus, Rodney D'Silva, Ken Keys, Dick Dunn, Glen Kirkpatrick, Peter Eastment, Dwayne Labbe, Don Ezard, Jon MacClenahan, Peter Gardiner, Don MacKinnon, Gerry Grabner, Robert Malherbe, George Hemzal, John Martin, Greg Ingram, Helen McAdam, Victor Juy, Henry Neville, Kevin Peaty, Philip Scarrold, Philip Pepper, Stephen Taylor, Dariusz Polkowski, Rick Tinschert, John Rice, Kate Watts, Steve Robinson, Jim Wylie, Milan Zahorsky, Jr.
Inbetweeners: Susan Abrahams, Michael Bates, Melaine Allen, Jim Bell, Paul Baker, Mark Benvenuti, Bogdan Bojarski, Christopher Evans, Cindy Bower, Craig Fairclough, Katy Hesmond, Christopher Bradley, Grainia Cole, Bernard Gallate, Mark Coleman, Jackie Halbish, Michael Davis, Craig Handley, Jan D'Sliva, Lisa Hemmings, Amanda Earle, Phillip Judd, Martin Ellis, John David Hilliard, Glen Kirkpatrick, Julie Stapleton, Eva McEvilly, Bela Szeman, McDonald Morks, Elizabeth Thomas, Mathew Munro, Steven Trinbirth, John Robertson, Phillip Williams, Philip Scarrold, Sally Wood, Elizabeth Wojcik-Mirski, Carol Seidel
Animation Checkers: Kim Blaik, Lynette McClean, Leslie Blaney, Brodee Myers
Paint Checking: Robyn Smith, Narisa Martin, Ruth Edelman, Jackie Neville, Maragret Ziolkwski
Camera: James Carl, Ngaio Richards, Andrew Kaminski, Renée Robinson, Robert Letteri, Zig Sulkiewicz, Jenny Ochse, Kevin Toneycliff, Aniko Omos, George Vrozina, Gary L. Page, Chuck Fleckle, Kevin Villegrande, Robert Denbo
Special Effects: Henry Neville
Produced in Association With: Joe Cates Co., Inc.
A Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia Production

Season Two[]

Produced and Directed by: Buzz Potamkin
Originally Developed for Television by: Joe Cates
Creative Director: Chris Cuddington
Associate Producer: Gordon Kent
Animation Directors: Jon McClenahan, Darrell Van Citters
Story Editor: Rowby Goren
Executive in Charge of Production: Keith Amor
Production Manager: Wayne Dearing
Production Executive: Terry Smith
Storyboard Design: Cullen Blaine, Thom Enriquez, Jan Green, Don MacKinnon, Jim Mitchell, Gary P. Terry
Layout Supervisor: Margaret Parkes
Models: Di Rudder
Background Supervisor: Richard Zaloudek
Inbetweening Supervisor: Rick Tinschert
Animation Coordinator: Lynette McClean
Animation Checking Supervisor: Ellen Bayley
Xerography Supervisor: Joan Lawson
Xerography Checking Superisor: Irmina Dubinska
Xerox Checker: Christine O'Connor
Paint Supervisor: Donene Bailey
Paint Checking Supervisor: Jackie Neville
Camera Supervisor: Fernando Letteri
Voices: Ruth Buzzi, Brian Cummings, Linda Gary, Christina Lange, Emily Moultrie, Josh Rodine, Frank Welker, Don Messick, Henry Corden, Mel Blanc, John Stephenson, Kristen Fullerton, Marilyn Schreffler
Music Composed and Conducted By: Elliot Lawrence
Music Arranged By: Lanny Meyers
Music Recorded At: Regent Sound Studios
Sound Mixing: Sherry Klein for EFX Systems
Post Production Supervisors: Cheryl Murphy, Sean Sullivan
Voice Track Production: Diane Allman
Film Editor: Robert Ciaglia
Voice Tracks Recorded At: Buzzy's Recording Services
Post Production At: Video Transitions, Inc.
Camera: Gary L. Page, Chuck Fleckle, Kevin Villegrande, Robert Denbo
Production Auditor: Alan Moon
Director of Post Production: Jason Stiff
Post Production Coordinators: Bonnie Sehenuk, Jason Rock
Production Assistants: Anne C. Kroesche, Tom Rice, Robyn C. Williams
Animation Editor: Edward Hoffmeister
Appretice Editors: Karen Neel, Emmy Scharlatt
Track Reading: Cecil Broughton
Negative Cutter: Dennis Brookens
Lab: Atlab Australia
Layout Artists: Lisa Brailey, Peter Brennan, Gerry Capelle, Craig Handley, John Hill, Noel Hill, John Martin, Gaynor Medlin, Michael Mirfin, Mark Mulgrew, Richard Slapczynski, Pere Van-Reyk, Peter Sheehan
Background Painters: Chesmimre Borkert, David Davenport, Mike King-Prime, Jerry Liew, Nick Statropoulos, Helen Steele, Ken Wright, Milan Zahorski, Sr.
Animators: Karen Barbourtis, Sue Beak, Ty Bosco, Cindy Bower, Christopher Bradley, Rodney Brunsdon, Patrick Burns, Noeline Cassettari, Gairden Cooke, Murray Debus, Rodney D'Silva, Dick Dunn, Peter Eastment, Don Ezard, Ariel Ferrari, Gilbert Garcia, Peter Gardiner, Gerry Grabner, Mary Guest, Lianne Hughes, Glen Kirkpatrick, Sarah Lawson, David Law, Robert Malherge, Paul Maron, Helen McAdam, Paul McAdam, Wally Micati, Henry Neville, Kevin Peaty, Philip Pepper, Dariusz Polkowski, Vivien Ray, John Rice, Steve Robinson, Mike Stapleton, Stephen Taylor, Kaye Watts, Milan Zahorski, Jr.
Assistant Animators: Lisa Hemmings, Peter McDonald, Carol Seidl
Produced in Association With: Joe Cates Co., Inc.
A Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia Production

External links[]

The Berenstain Bears at the Big Cartoon Database